Vanessa's Story
by Reese1
Summary: Vanessa begins a journey of self discovery after surviving the destruction of the SDF1, in a story spanning all three generations of Robotech.
1. The One Who Lived

A BRIEF NOTE: This story follows the continuity established by the 85 episode series. To the best of my knowledge, there is nothing in this story that is explicitly contradicted by the anime. However, the story only PARTLY follows the Jack McKinney novels, and in some instances will be very different. In the first episode of Southern Cross, Supreme Commander Leonard omitted Vanessa's name from the list of the SDF-1 dead. Personally I think she was killed with the rest of the crew, but it got me thinking. what if? Thus this fanfic was born.  
  
* * *  
  
January 2014  
  
Lisa Hayes strode through the double doors into the critical care ward of Monument City's army hospital. Only moments before, a chopper had flown in from New Macross City, carrying the survivors of the SDF-1.  
  
It had been one day since the fateful battle of New Macross City. In that conflict, Khyron and Azonia had rammed their Zentraedi battlecruiser into the SDF-1. The United Earth Government had immediately ordered the quarantine of New Macross City and the evacuation of its citizens. Salvage operations on the destroyed SDF-1 were begun at once. Captain Lisa Hayes, the lone survivor of the SDF-1 bridge crew, had supervised the search for survivors. Lisa had entertained little hope that many survivors would be found. She had believed that the entire bridge crew had been killed.  
  
Now, as Lisa entered one of the rooms on the critical care ward, she gasped in shock. Lisa had known what to expect, but the reality that now confronted her still overwhelmed her.  
  
On a hospital bed, a young woman lay unconscious, intubated and hooked to a respirator. IV lines snaked into her arms, nourishing her. The woman's forehead was bandaged.  
  
"She's alive," Lisa murmured in wonder.  
  
Vanessa Leeds was alive.  
  
* * *  
  
April 2014  
  
Three months passed, and Vanessa remained in a coma. Lisa walked into Vanessa's hospital room. She had visited Vanessa every week for the last three months. Sometimes Rick came with her when he was off duty. Tonight Lisa came alone.  
  
She was not the only visitor, however. The three former Zentraedi spies, Rico, Konda, and Bron sat vigilantly at Vanessa's bedside. Lisa found herself admiring the three Zentraedis' devotion toward Vanessa. In the time that Vanessa Leeds, Kim Young, and Sammie Porter had known the three Zentraedi, they had been an inseparable group. They had found a natural affinity toward one another.  
  
Lisa remembered how devastated the three Zentraedi had been when she had informed them of the deaths of Sammie and Kim, and of Vanessa's condition. Now, Rico, Konda, and Bron clung to Vanessa, hoping against hope that she would come back to them. She was the last surviving member of the infamous Terrible Trio. The Zentraedi clung to the hope that one of their friends would return to them.  
  
"How is she?" Lisa asked Bron, the swarthy, brown-haired Zentraedi.  
  
It seemed to Lisa that Bron felt something for Vanessa that went beyond friendship. It was a feeling that Bron himself could not put into words, but which Lisa knew all too well.  
  
Bron gave a weak smile and gestured at Vanessa's sleeping form, as if to say that nothing had changed.  
  
Lisa took a seat on the other side of the bed and watched Vanessa sleep.  
  
At that moment, Vanessa's eyes blinked open, and she stirred in her bed.  
  
"Look!" Lisa said to the three Zentraedi. Everyone in the room rose to their feet and stood at the edge of Vanessa's bed.  
  
"Vanessa," Bron whispered, taking hold of Vanessa's slender hand.  
  
Vanessa slowly looked to Bron, Lisa, Konda, and Rico, and she smiled.  
  
* * *  
  
Not yet strong enough to walk, Vanessa was temporarily confined to a wheelchair. A week had elapsed since Vanessa's recovery and release from the hospital. The two women decided to pay a visit together to the graves of the crew of the SDF-1.  
  
A memorial park had been created in Monument City to honor those who had died in the First Robotech War. A large granite sculpture of the SDF-1 was at the center of the park. It stood proudly in the midst of a circular reflecting pool. The grave stones of the heroes of the First Robotech War, including Roy Fokker, Henry Gloval, Claudia Grant, Sammie Porter, and Kim Young were positioned in close proximity around the circular pool.  
  
"Do you remember what happened that day?" Lisa asked softly, referring to the final battle of the SDF-1.  
  
* * *  
  
"Brace for collision!" Lisa cried amidst the tumult of the SDF-1 bridge.  
  
There was precious little time left. Within seconds, Khyron's cruiser would crash into the SDF-1, and it was very likely that everyone would be killed.  
  
Vanessa and Kim exchanged a brief but meaningful look as they both sat at their consoles. It had always seemed as if the three friends, the Terrible Trio, would make it in the end. They had been through so much together, years before the Zentraedi had first attacked the Earth. Was this the end? Was this goodbye?  
  
The collision rocked the bridge, and everyone cried out in alarm. In the confusion, Vanessa dimly perceived shouting on the bridge. Henry Gloval was shoving Lisa into the only remaining escape pod, and Claudia was strapping her in, while struggling to remain upright as the SDF-1 began to tilt.  
  
"Let go of me!" Lisa cried out, still struggling.  
  
"It has to be you, Lisa," Claudia shouted as Gloval yanked the lever that sent Lisa's ejection module into the sky.  
  
"No!" Lisa screamed.  
  
Just as Lisa was ejected from the bridge against her will, an explosion rocked the bridge, tearing through Gloval and Claudia.  
  
The SDF-1 shook again and tilted at an even more precarious angle. A bulkhead collapsed, crushing Sammie.  
  
"Sammie!" Vanessa cried as she was thrown against the wall, striking the side of her head. At the same time, Kim's control console exploded, forcibly throwing Kim out of her seat and onto the floor. As Vanessa slipped into unconsciousness, the last thing she saw was Kim's bloodied face. Kim's eyes were open, and amidst the chaos on the bridge, her eyes looked into Vanessa's for the last time. Kim was trying to say something. Her lips were moving, but Vanessa could not hear her. Struggling to stay alert, Vanessa tried to say something, but the words failed to come. After a few seconds, Kim lay still, her mouth unmoving, her eyes remaining open. The image of Kim looking into her face across a distance of a few feet as they lay on the floor would remain with Vanessa and haunt her for the rest of her life.  
  
* * *  
  
"I wonder what Kim was trying to tell me," Vanessa said as she and Lisa pondered Kim Young's grave.  
  
"What do you say to your friend when you're both about to die?" Vanessa said.  
  
"Claudia was my best friend," Lisa said as she stood behind Vanessa's wheelchair. "And the last thing she said to me was, 'It has to be you.'"  
  
"You were to command the SDF-3," Vanessa mused, "You had a big mission ahead of you. And you had someone who loved you."  
  
"I guess it means I was the one who had the most to live for," Lisa said sardonically.  
  
"I would have done the same thing, if I had been in Claudia's shoes," Vanessa said, turning to face Lisa.  
  
"How can you say that, Vanessa? You have so much ahead of you. You're young, smart, and beautiful. You have just as much to live for as I do."  
  
"But I've lost my best friends," Vanessa said, gesturing to the graves of Sammie and Kim. "They were like sisters to me. We did everything together. How is it that I'm alive, and they are gone? It wasn't meant to happen this way. I was supposed to die with them. It's not fair!"  
  
Vanessa wiped away a tear at the thought of Kim and Sammie. Lisa knelt on the ground beside Vanessa's chair, and she took Vanessa's hand tenderly.  
  
"Maybe." Lisa said, "Kim believed that you would be the one to survive. Maybe she knew we would be here at this very moment, wondering what might have been, what should have been. Maybe she was telling you to live. Against all odds, you made it. There must be a reason you survived."  
  
"I can't imagine what kind of reason it could be," Vanessa said tearfully.  
  
"Neither can I," Lisa consoled her friend, "but I believe in you, Vanessa. We all have to let go now, let go of the past, and look toward the future. We have to honor the friends who died by doing the things they believed we could do in this life. I believe that you will make a difference in people's lives wherever you go."  
  
As they sat together in the memorial park, the two friends contemplated the future in silence for a long time.  
  
* * *  
  
July 2014  
  
In the living room of the home owned by the Sterlings, Rico sat on the living room rug and made funny faces at Dana Sterling. Still on one and a half years of age, Dana clapped her hands in delight and laughed at the wiry Zentraedi.  
  
"Hi there, little Dana," Rico said.  
  
"Hi," Dana said. Dana was only able to say a handful of words.  
  
"Isn't she cute?" Vanessa said as she watched from the sofa. Bron, Konda, and Miriya stood nearby and watched with endless amusement. Miriya excused herself and went to join Max in the kitchen, where they were preparing dinner for everyone.  
  
Five minutes later, Max Sterling, wearing his "Max and Miriya" apron, walked into the living room to announce that dinner was served.  
  
"All right, I'm starved!" Bron said eagerly.  
  
Soon, everyone was seated at the dining table, enjoying Max's curry beef stew.  
  
"Well guys, what do you think? Is it all right?" Max asked as they began eating.  
  
"It's excellent," Konda said with his mouth full.  
  
"I'm so amazed by you, Max," Vanessa said admiringly, "you do everything well."  
  
"Aw, shucks," Max said, blushing.  
  
Miriya nudged Max's elbow and winked suggestively at him.  
  
"It's true," Miriya said, and Vanessa laughed.  
  
As the group of friends talked and laughed well into the night, each one of them tried not to think of the inevitable. Soon, they must say goodbye, at least for now. The Zentraedi malcontents were creating trouble in South America, and Max and Miriya Sterling would soon depart for the region to quell the unrest. Tonight was a farewell dinner of sorts.  
  
Finally, when it was nearly midnight, Rico, Konda, and Bron prepared to leave. They all had to go to work the next day-delivering pizzas. Vanessa decided to stay a little while longer.  
  
"See you tomorrow, after work?" Bron asked hopefully.  
  
"Sure," Vanessa said, smiling. "Good night."  
  
Later,Vanessa and Max sat alone on the steps of the Sterlings' front porch. Miriya, after putting Dana to bed, had decided to go to sleep as well.  
  
"How's work going? Is everything really okay?" Max said.  
  
"It's fine, but it's nothing like the SDF-1," Vanessa said, referring to her position as a radar operator. She had returned to military life, working in the control tower of the main RDF airfield of Monument City.  
  
"I know what you mean," Max said. He could close his eyes, and at once the ferocious air and space battles he had participated in flashed across his memories. It was exciting and horrific all at once.  
  
"Lisa offered me a spot on the SDF-3 bridge," Vanessa said, turning to Max.  
  
"What did you tell her?" Max said.  
  
The SDF-3 mission would not commence for several years. The current timetable estimated the launching of the SDF-3 in six years. It would be a long and dangerous mission, and there was no guarantee that anyone who left on it would ever return. Did she, Vanessa, want to be a part of it?  
  
"I told her I would think about it," Vanessa said.  
  
But deep down, she knew what her answer would be.  
  
"You don't want to leave," Max said.  
  
"I traveled the solar system in the SDF-1," Vanessa said. "I was on the bridge when we took on five million enemy warships. I watched my best friends die. I've seen and done enough for one lifetime."  
  
There was something more. Vanessa was finally starting over again, trying to get used to life without Sammie and Kim. She had friends who cared about her. She still had Bron.  
  
"I'm tired of war," Vanessa said. "I just want to settle down with someone and have a normal life, if that's possible in this world."  
  
"He cares about you," Max said, voicing the hitherto unspoken thought. They both knew he was talking about Bron.  
  
"Do you love him?"  
  
"I'm not sure yet," Vanessa admitted.  
  
"I don't get it," Max grinned. "What do you see in him that you didn't see in me?"  
  
Vanessa playfully shoved Max in the arm.  
  
"Remember when we first met?" Max said softly.  
  
They sat together on the porch in silence for a while, admiring the starlit sky.  
  
* * *  
  
May 2009  
  
Max Sterling nudged Ben Dixon as they stood in line at the SDF-1 cafeteria. It had nearly been three months since the initial Zentraedi attack and the disastrous fold of the SDF-1 to the orbit of Pluto. The two pilots-in- training had recently enlisted in the RDF, and they had gotten to know each other. Sometimes, they ate and hung out together. But today, Max had other ideas as he eyed the pretty, brown-haired girl sitting alone at a table with her dinner.  
  
"See that girl sitting at that table?" Max said.  
  
"You mean the one with the glasses?" Ben said.  
  
"What do you think, Ben? Do you think I have a chance with a pretty girl like her?"  
  
"Oh, I don't know," Ben said, screwing his eyes up, "she looks a little older than you."  
  
Max was not intimidated. It was his turn in the dinner line, and he loaded his dinner tray as quickly as he could.  
  
"I'm going to go over and talk to her. Wish me luck."  
  
Having barely started eating, Vanessa looked up from her plate and saw a young man in uniform heading in her direction. He was an unassuming fellow with blue hair and aviator glasses. He was kind of cute, actually. This would be interesting, Vanessa thought to herself.  
  
"Hi, mind if I join you?" Max asked.  
  
Vanessa smiled politely, and Max took a seat at the opposite end of the table. They introduced themselves to each other. Max told Vanessa that he was training to be a Veritech pilot.  
  
"I'm really looking forward to it," Max gushed enthusiastically.  
  
Vanessa, in return, explained that she was a member of the SDF-1 bridge crew.  
  
"Really?" Max said, amazed. "What's it like up there?"  
  
"Stressful," Vanessa laughed. "But bearable, thanks to my friends on the bridge."  
  
Vanessa looked over Max's shoulder.  
  
"Here come two of them right now!"  
  
"Huh?" Max said, turning to come face to face with Kim and Sammie.  
  
"Hey Vanessa," Kim said cheerfully.  
  
"Who's the boy?" Sammie inquired.  
  
"This is Max Sterling. Max, these are my friends Kim Young and Sammie Porter."  
  
"Pleased to meet you. Max," Sammie winked.  
  
Max blushed.  
  
"What took you so long to get here?" Vanessa said.  
  
"We were on our way here for dinner, when Sammie had to hit on some guy on the street," Kim smirked.  
  
"Oh, hush," Sammie said, annoyed. "He was just an old friend from high school."  
  
"Sure he was," Kim insinuated.  
  
Sammie turned on Max.  
  
"What are you smiling at?" she demanded.  
  
"Nothing," Max insisted.  
  
"Well, I can see you're occupied with your new boyfriend right now," Kim said, grabbing Sammie by the arm. "Come on, Sammie, let's leave the two of them alone."  
  
"Hey!" Vanessa protested. Sammie and Kim walked off, ignoring her.  
  
Vanessa was a little uncomfortable at being left alone with Max, especially after Kim's embarrassing remark. It was obvious to her that Max was more than a little attracted to her. Sure, he was cute and nice, but he was shy, awkward, and. well, nerdy. He was just a young kid in her eyes.  
  
When the two of them had finished eating, Vanessa got up to leave.  
  
"It was nice meeting you, Max," she said, eager to beat a retreat back to the bridge, even though she wasn't due back for another hour. "I have to get back on duty now, so if you'll excuse me-"  
  
"Wait," Max pleaded. "Do you have to leave so soon? Care to go for a walk? Maybe I can buy you a drink or something."  
  
"Sounds nice. Sorry, I have to go. Talk to you later, Max," Vanessa said, hurrying away.  
  
Max watched her leave, dumbstruck. Boy, did he royally screw that one up.  
  
"I never even got to ask her number," Max said, shaking his head.  
  
Ben came up to Max's table.  
  
"Struck out, buddy?" Ben asked.  
  
"Sure seems that way."  
  
"I'm telling you, Max. These older women, they'll eat you up and spit you out."  
  
"Can we not talk about it, please?" Max said, annoyed and unwilling to discuss the matter with Ben.  
  
"Hey, I've got an idea. Let's go to the arcade. I challenge you to a game of Valkyrie. I'll kick your butt this time!"  
  
"Oh really?" Max said skeptically. Ben had never beaten Max in a videogame, ever.  
  
"Hey, I've been practicing." Ben said as the two of them got up to leave.  
  
* * *  
  
Vanessa affectionately squeezed Max's shoulder as they sat peacefully on Max's front porch, thinking of the events of five years ago.  
  
"I'm sorry if I was rude to you that day," Vanessa said. "You know I've apologized for it. what, a hundred times?"  
  
"I'm sure my becoming a war hero had something to do with that," Max joked. "Anyway, I never was much good with women."  
  
"But you found Miriya," Vanessa said wistfully, perhaps wishing that she could experience the same kind of deep, loving relationship that Max enjoyed with Miriya. Max looked at her and could tell the depths of her loneliness. Your time will come, Vanessa, he thought to himself.  
  
"She's so wonderful and sweet," Vanessa said.  
  
"Not to mention a great pilot," she hastened to add.  
  
"Isn't she something?" Max said lovingly and with a sense of wonder. 


	2. Fortunes of War

December 24, 2014  
  
Four friends gathered together to celebrate Christmas. It had been a difficult year for Vanessa, Rico, Konda, and Bron. The SDF-1 had been destroyed. Kim and Sammie were gone, and Vanessa had lain in a coma for many weeks before finally emerging. Vanessa pondered the events of the past year as she sat in the living room of her Zentraedi friends' apartment. Looking into the faces of her friends, she could tell that they all needed this time to give thanks for the fact that they still had one another.  
  
"Merry Christmas everyone," Vanessa lifted up her glass of champagne, after they had finished eating their dinner.  
  
Rico stared into his glass as he swished the contents around absentmindedly. He began to tremble.  
  
"What's wrong?" Vanessa asked Rico, concerned.  
  
"He's been like this all week," Konda tried to explain. "I think it's just- "  
  
"Yes, I miss her," Rico bawled out. Everyone knew he was talking about Sammie. Rico looked like he was about to burst into tears.  
  
"I can't help it, I'm sorry," Rico said. "I feel as if I don't know how to handle all these emotions. When I think that it was only one year ago when we were all together on Christmas and watched the lights go up on the SDF- 1, it's just too much."  
  
Vanessa walked over to where Rico sat on the sofa, next to Bron. She put down her glass and, turning to Rico, hugged him gently.  
  
"It's okay, we're here," Vanessa said, "Let it all out."  
  
Rico began crying uncontrollably as he hugged Vanessa back, holding onto her for dear life. Vanessa's eyes went to Konda. Konda was a million miles away, standing across the room, looking out the window toward the stars, consumed in his own thoughts of Kim.  
  
At the end of the evening, it was time for Vanessa to go home. Bron offered to walk Vanessa home, and Vanessa was happy to have his company.  
  
They had spent a lot of time together in the months since Vanessa's return from the brink of death. Sometimes, Vanessa and Bron spent time out on the town together, and at other times, they were joined by Rico and Konda.  
  
"I hope you had a nice time," Bron said hesitantly as he linked arms with Vanessa.  
  
The two friends walked under a clear, starry midnight sky. Everything was quiet except for the low hum of automobile engines in the distance.  
  
"I know it's not the same without Sammie and Kim," Bron added.  
  
Vanessa stopped and turned to face Bron.  
  
"It's not," Vanessa said, "and it could never be. But it's nice to know that I still have a family in this world."  
  
Vanessa did not understand it. She had never felt this way toward anyone. She had been in relationships before, but she had never truly been in love before, and as she looked into Bron's eyes, she wondered if this was what love was like. When Vanessa thought of Bron, she pictured a man who was kind, courageous, and loyal, but who was a little bit of a buffoon. But even if Bron tended to appear a buffoon at times, it endeared him all the more to Vanessa. Bron's goofiness belied a good heart. He went out on his way to do good things for her.  
  
And she adored him for it.  
  
When Vanessa was with Bron, she did not feel the giddy schoolgirl excitement she would have felt as a younger woman. When Vanessa thought of Bron, the fireworks would not go off, nor would the blood rush to her head in romantic excitement. When Vanessa thought of Bron, she felt one thing above all other sensations. She felt a deep peace and contentment.  
  
"Vanessa, I have something for you," Bron said sheepishly as he produced a small, wrapped Christmas present.  
  
Vanessa's eyes went wide in surprise as she accepted the gift.  
  
"Oh, I was wondering if I was going to get a present from you," Vanessa said, laughing. The wrapped box was so light. What could be inside?  
  
"Go ahead," Bron said. "Open it."  
  
Vanessa happily opened the box. Inside was a steel pendant on a silver chain.  
  
"Bron," Vanessa said, "what is this?"  
  
She turned the object over in her hand. The metallic pendant gleamed in the moonlight.  
  
Vanessa pressed a button on the side of the pendant, and the two halves of the heart shaped pendant opened outward.  
  
The pendant projected a small hologram of Vanessa, Kim, and Sammie. They were smiling cheerfully, without a care in the world. Their arms were around each other as they smiled and laughed for the camera.  
  
"This was from Max and Miriya's wedding reception," Vanessa said, a lump forming in her throat as she remembered happier times.  
  
"I took this picture, remember?" Bron said. "I thought it would be neat to have it converted into a holographic image. I hope you like it."  
  
Vanessa passed a finger through Kim's miniature holographic image. The picture was so real, so lifelike. It seemed to Vanessa that the distance separating herself from her two dearest friends was not the immense barrier of life and death, but a distance of mere inches. All Vanessa had to do was reach out with her hand, and she could touch the faces of her lost friends. The Terrible Trio would be reunited once again.  
  
"It's lovely," Vanessa said, tears in her eyes. "I'll treasure it always."  
  
Vanessa slowly closed the pendant and put the chain around her neck.  
  
She turned to look up at Bron, and they smiled at each other in silence for a few moments. Vanessa linked arms with Bron and they traversed the short remaining distance to Vanessa's quarters.  
  
Vanessa stood in front of her door as Bron wished her a Merry Christmas and a good night. Before Bron could turn to leave, Vanessa took his hand and pulled him back. As the two stood there, holding hands and looking into each other's eyes, both of them understood the feelings they had toward one another. The mutual feeling of deep caring and affection ran through their hearts as they leaned in to kiss for the first time. And the feeling was not awkward, or strange, or alien.  
  
It just felt right.  
  
* * *  
  
December 2022  
  
On board the SDF-3, in front of everyone, Rick Hunter kissed his new bride, Lisa Hayes. It was the eve of the maiden voyage of the SDF-3 to the home world of the Robotech Masters. It was a truly happy moment for the friends of Rick and Lisa, and Vanessa felt blessed to be able to witness this joyous event, the culmination of the long romance between Rick and Lisa.  
  
I wish Kim and Sammie could be here, Vanessa thought. She remembered the times she and her two friends would gossip aboard the bridge of the SDF-2, discussing with great enthusiasm the latest news and tidbits. They used to talk about whether or not Rick and Lisa would get engaged someday.  
  
It felt like a million years ago.  
  
"The only reason why we're laughing about it is it isn't happening to us," Kim once had said.  
  
But it had happened to Vanessa. Vanessa, the only one of the Terrible Trio lucky enough to survive and rebuild her life with someone she loved.  
  
Vanessa felt a tug on her sleeve.  
  
"Why are you crying, mommy?"  
  
Vanessa looked down at her daughter, Samantha. Her four-year-old daughter, her one great treasure. On that fateful Christmas night in 2014, eight years ago, Vanessa and Bron realized that they loved each other. They came to the realization that they could not live without one another, and they never wanted to be apart.  
  
"I don't want to lose you, ever again," Bron had said that night.  
  
Two years later, they were married. It was a small wedding, attended only by Rico, Konda, Rick Hunter, Lisa Hayes, and the Sterling family. Rico and Konda had both cried like babies, Vanessa fondly recalled.  
  
"Mommy?" the little girl's gentle voice brought Vanessa back to the present.  
  
Vanessa wiped a tear away from her eye, looked down at her little girl, and smiled.  
  
"I was thinking about Rick and Lisa up there, Sam," Vanessa said, pointing to the newlyweds.  
  
Samantha looked up at her mother inquisitively.  
  
"I was remembering how they first fell in love."  
  
Vanessa affectionately patted her daughter on the head. Seated on the other side of Vanessa, Bron pointed to the stage.  
  
"Look, Minmei and Janice are about to sing," he whispered with excitement.  
  
Vanessa smiled as the beautiful wedding song filled the room. Vanessa and Bron both realized that without Minmei's song, the two of them might never have met. It was Minmei's song that had captured the hearts of Bron, Rico, and Konda, and had motivated them to defect to the SDF-1. After all these years, Bron had never forgotten the joy of listening to a Minmei performance.  
  
* * *  
  
Years passed by peacefully. Vanessa lived happily with her family. It seemed to Vanessa that those years flew by her in the span of one breath, and that she had been living a dream from which she never wanted to awaken. Bron was a devoted husband, and Samantha was a wonderful daughter. There were times when, looking at her daughter, Vanessa could see traces not only of herself and Bron, but Sammie and Kim. Sometimes, Vanessa believed that the spirits of her friends lived on in her little girl. Many times, Vanessa felt great pride in her daughter. Samantha was a little quiet and shy, but she was also very sweet and considerate, and she loved her adopted uncles, Rico and Konda.  
  
The clouds of war returned to cast a shadow on the earth once again. The Army of the Southern Cross pitted itself against the might of the Robotech Masters, and Vanessa felt herself caught up, once again, in the turmoil of the times. She remained at the same post, serving as a radar operator, but she had begun to long for an opportunity to leave the military and Monument City altogether.  
  
On the last day of the Second Robotech War, an event would occur that would change Vanessa's world forever.  
  
August 8, 2030  
  
The enemy would arrive within minutes, and with their arrival would come the certain destruction of Monument City and everyone in it.  
  
"You go ahead and leave if you want," Supreme Commander Leonard told his adjuvant. "I'm going to stay here until the battle is over."  
  
Within seconds, the order for the evacuation of the command headquarters was given.  
  
Vanessa, sitting at her post in the airfield tower, looked up in response to the voice on the PA system.  
  
"The enemy has breached our defenses. All personnel must evacuate immediately!"  
  
Vanessa did not need to think twice. She got up and ran for the exit stairs without hesitation, and she was joined by dozens of other personnel. There was no order to the evacuation. Sheer terror and panic gripped everyone, and every person was consumed by thoughts of escape. Who would have thought the war would have come to this?  
  
This is it, she thought to herself.  
  
The moment of destiny had arrived. Somehow, she needed to find her family and safely get out of the city as quickly as possible.  
  
Vanessa had not gotten more than a hundred yards away from the command headquarters when it was suddenly hit by enemy fire. A merciless barrage of missiles and lasers descended upon the complex behind Vanessa with deadly accuracy, and the entire place was instantaneously torn apart by violent flames. In the heat of the moment, Vanessa barely had time to let the fact that she had just escaped death sink into her mind. Vanessa thought only of Bron and Samantha as she ran homeward as fast as her legs could carry her. The skies above burned with the nightmarish flames of desperate battle. Everywhere Vanessa looked, she saw smoke, rubble, and devastation. Destroyed hovertanks and bioroids, as well as dead civilians lay scattered along the broken streets. Vanessa had never witnessed anything so horrible since the "Rain of Death" brought upon the earth by Dolza, so many years ago.  
  
"Vanessa! Over here!"  
  
A few yards ahead, Vanessa saw Rico and Konda running to meet her.  
  
"Where's Bron and Sam?" Vanessa shouted above the noise of the raging battle.  
  
"They're heading toward the city limits right now," Rico shouted. "Bron sent us to find you and bring you back!"  
  
Together, the three of them ran down the endless streets. As they paused near a street corner to catch their breath, Rico spotted two dead soldiers lying nearby. He ran out to them to pick up their laser rifles.  
  
"What are you doing?" Vanessa cried.  
  
"We have to protect you," Konda said.  
  
Suddenly, Vanessa understood all as she looked into the determined eyes of Rico and Konda. The Zentraedi fighting spirit, long extinguished, had risen anew in Rico and Konda. Neither of them had thought they would ever bear arms in battle again, but now, for this one brief moment in time, they were soldiers again.  
  
A bioroid on a hovercraft spotted Vanessa and her friends. Suddenly, the lone enemy fighter swooped down on their position, guns blazing.  
  
"Run!" Rico cried as he squeezed off a couple of shots at the rapidly approaching bioroid craft, which pursued them from behind.  
  
The three friends took off, racing down the cluttered avenue as enemy fire danced all around them, missing by the narrowest margins.  
  
"We're almost at the evacuation point," Konda shouted. "Only a few more blocks!"  
  
A single bioroid fighter stood between Vanessa, Rico, and Konda, and the evacuation area, and they were isolated. No one was coming to help them.  
  
The bioroid craft zoomed above their heads with a deafening roar, and all three ducked reflexively. They watched fearfully as the bioroid turned his craft around to make another attack run.  
  
"Why are they doing this? Why are they trying to kill us all?" Vanessa said.  
  
"Run, Vanessa," Rico said, pointing toward a nearby alley that branched off to the right and led to a slightly more circuitous route to the city limits.  
  
Konda pushed Vanessa in that general direction, and Vanessa took off running. She realized that Rico and Konda were not with her, and she turned back and looked at them across a distance of five yards.  
  
Konda waved her off furiously.  
  
"We'll cover you!"  
  
"Come on, let's go!" Vanessa shouted.  
  
Vanessa suddenly heard explosions all around her and realized the enemy was firing on her. She ducked behind the remains of a destroyed hovertank for what meager shelter it could provide.  
  
"Hey, over here!" Rico hollered as he and Konda fired on the rapidly approaching enemy.  
  
"RUN!" Konda shouted at Vanessa, and Vanessa did not think twice. She took off running once again.  
  
The laser fire from Rico and Konda distracted the bioroid, and the bioroid responded with merciless wrath, cutting down the two Zentraedi in a hail of laser fire.  
  
Vanessa turned as she reached the diverging alleyway and she saw Rico and Konda fall. A streak of smoke ran from the bioroid craft, evidently caused by the Zentraedis' laser fire. The bioroid passed over the two Zentraedi.  
  
Horrified, Vanessa suppressed the urge to go back out to Rico and Konda. She ran so hard that she had nothing left for her tears. The shock of their deaths was so numbingly sudden, and the emotions she knew she would feel had not yet set in.  
  
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Vanessa reached the outskirts of the city. Amidst the crowd of people, Vanessa discerned her husband, holding Samantha by the hand and calling out Vanessa's name.  
  
The population of Monument City was departing in a mass exodus, heading for the outlying hills. Bron and Samantha had remained closer to the city, hoping to find Vanessa on her way out.  
  
"Bron!" Vanessa answered as loud as she could.  
  
"Mom!" Samantha cried out in excitement as Vanessa closed the distance between them amidst the crowd of people.  
  
Vanessa embraced Bron and Samantha at once. Words could not express the depth of relief that Vanessa felt upon reuniting with her family once again. Her body racked with sobs.  
  
"Mom," Samantha said, looking up as Vanessa held her and Bron tightly, "what's wrong?"  
  
"Rico and Konda are gone," Vanessa said, her voice choking. "They sacrificed themselves for me."  
  
Vanessa's eyes met Bron's, and she could see his shock and grief.  
  
"It's not safe here," Bron said, struggling to pull himself back together, "we have to get as far away from this city as possible."  
  
Vanessa clutched Bron's hand tightly as he led her and Samantha down the road toward the surrounding hills and forests, where everyone else was headed. In a matter of days, her whole world had been turned upside down. The war had come to a climax, and the life she had known was being torn apart. Vanessa had no real thoughts on what she would do, or what kind of life she would lead in the days to come. She thought only of surviving, minute to minute.  
  
A great commotion arose in the crowd, and there suddenly arose cries of alarm and panic.  
  
"They're headed this way!" someone cried out, and everyone looked to the skies.  
  
A pair of shot down bioroids and their smoking crafts were streaking down toward the procession of civilians like a pair of avenging angels. The calm procession now degenerated into a terrified stampede. People fell and were trampled underfoot as everyone jostled about, trying to get out of the way.  
  
Vanessa looked up to the sky and understood that in an instant, the two hovercraft would hit the ground, and it was likely that she might die. She tried not to think of it as she held onto Bron's hand for dear life. She saw nothing but the blur of people, trying to clear the area, and she heard nothing but panicked shouts and terrible cries of pain.  
  
In the chaos of the moment, a hand grabbed Vanessa by the collar and jerked her backward. Vanessa only had time to cry out Bron's name as she felt her hand pulled away from her husband's. The hand pulling her backward slipped from her jacket collar but remained gripped around her necklace.  
  
Bron and Samantha turned to look for Vanessa, but they themselves were being swept forward by the tide of humanity.  
  
Vanessa heard her name being called as she felt the thin necklace chain snap.  
  
My pendant!  
  
Vanessa was seized by the terror of losing her pendant. The very pendant that Bron had given to her on the night they had acknowledged their love for one another. She turned and managed to catch the pendant as it slipped out of the necklace chain and fell toward the ground.  
  
At that very instant, the two bioroid hovercraft hit the ground in a tremendous explosion, throwing up bodies, dirt, and metallic debris in an enormous cloud of smoke.  
  
Vanessa did not know how long she lay on the ground, dazed by the force of the blast. She was dirtied and bloodied, but none of that mattered to her. The explosion had hit some distance ahead of her. Vanessa was seized by the intense desire to find her husband and daughter and know that they were all right.  
  
Unable to stand for the moment, Vanessa crawled forward on her hands and knees. She ignored the pain in her body and the dead and dying people around her as she moved forward.  
  
Bron and Samantha both lay facedown on the ground, a few yards ahead.  
  
"No," Vanessa's voice croaked in agony as she reached her family and turned them over to see their faces.  
  
Samantha was dead. Her eyes were closed in a serene posture as she lay on the ground, the blood from the gaping shrapnel wound on her neck already beginning to dry.  
  
"Vanessa," Bron whispered. Vanessa turned her eyes to her husband. Bron had been severely burned and cut by the explosion as well. He did not have long to live.  
  
"I failed," Bron said, his lips curling into a faint, sheepish smile.  
  
"What do you mean?" Vanessa said, still trying to absorb the shock of what had transpired. She pulled Bron to him and partly laid herself on top of him, one arm around his chest, the other behind his head.  
  
"I failed to save our little girl," Bron gasped, wincing in pain with each breath.  
  
"No, don't talk like that. You did all you could."  
  
Vanessa, unable to control herself any longer, began weeping openly. Sobs of anguish racked her entire being as she held Bron closer to her.  
  
"Shhh," the dying Bron soothed his wife, "don't cry."  
  
"It can't end this way," Vanessa choked out, her voice failing her. "Don't leave me, please don't leave me. I love you so much."  
  
"Vanessa," Bron said in an even voice, stronger this time.  
  
Vanessa stifled her sobs and looked her husband in the eyes. Their faces were separated by mere inches.  
  
"I'm so thankful that you came into my life," Bron said slowly, giving weight to each word. "But our time is at an end. Promise me something, Vanessa."  
  
"What?" Vanessa said.  
  
"Promise that you won't give up hope," Bron whispered.  
  
"I promise," Vanessa said, sealing her vow with a final kiss. Bron kissed her back, and Vanessa felt him slowly fade away.  
  
Vanessa, slowly and unwillingly, pulled away from Bron and gently closed his eyes with her fingers.  
  
"Goodbye, my love," she whispered.  
  
It was then that Vanessa realized that she had been clutching the pendant in her hand the entire time, since the moment that the explosion hit. It was hard to believe that this little thing, this pendant, had saved her life. Why, if she hadn't been jerked back at the last instant, she might have been killed along with Bron and Samantha. Perhaps it would have been better that way. Perhaps she had been cheated out of her destiny, once again.  
  
"Don't give up hope," Vanessa heard Bron's calm voice in her head.  
  
Vanessa sat contemplating her lost family, lying before her, for a long time. She closed her eyes and tried not to lose herself in grief, but to remember the happy moments they had shared as a family in the years of peace. If she could only hold onto these memories and remember the goodness in her life, maybe there was hope that one day she would find happiness again.  
  
Elsewhere, the flagship of the Robotech Masters had been destroyed. Somewhere in the plains around Monument City, Dana Sterling was watching the spores of the Invid flower of life spread across the planet.  
  
From where she sat, contemplating her future and the future of humanity, Vanessa Leeds looked up and saw the signs of the future. Somehow, Vanessa knew that she would pick up the pieces of her life and find her place in the world.  
  
She did not know how it would be, but she knew it in her heart. 


	3. Bedtime Stories

August 2050  
  
"Tell me a story, daddy," the young girl pleaded as her father tucked her into bed for the night.  
  
Rand smiled as he leaned over the bed and caressed his daughter's cheek. She was looking more and more like her mother every day. Her beautiful mother. In the darkness of the bedroom, Rand turned toward the door and saw a shadow, and he knew that Rook was standing by the door, surreptitiously listening to their conversation. Since the defeat of the Invid and the end of the last Robotech war, Rand and Rook had been living peacefully in Rand's old hometown, a rural town in South America.  
  
"It's getting late, Maria," said Rand. "Anyway, I think I've told you all of my stories by now. I bet I even repeated some of them without knowing it. Don't you get tired of listening to me?"  
  
The five-year-old Maria pouted, putting on an exaggerated frown in a sign of mock disapproval.  
  
"I think you've got a story in you," Maria said.  
  
"Well," Rand said, scratching his head.  
  
"How did you get that?"  
  
Maria pointed to a silver chain around her father's neck. Rand looked down in surprise, as if he had become so accustomed to wearing it that he had forgotten its very existence.  
  
Rand gingerly reached into the collar of his shirt and pulled out the rest of the necklace, which his clothing had always concealed. At the end of the necklace was a shiny steel pendant.  
  
"Daddy, what's that?"  
  
"I never told you about this old thing?"  
  
Maria shook her head.  
  
Rand, holding the pendant in his hand, took a seat next to Maria's bed and opened the pendant. A holographic image of three young women appeared in the palm of Rand's hand, emanating from the pendant. The light of the hologram faintly illuminated the room.  
  
"Well, it's like this," Rand said, summoning his story-telling powers as best as he could.  
  
"Once upon a time," Rand began as the impressions of long-lost sights and sounds returned to him.  
  
* * *  
  
August 20, 2030  
  
The train would leave in ten minutes, the conductor informed Vanessa.  
  
As Vanessa stood outside the train with her suitcase, she and Dana Sterling looked each other, perhaps for the last time in their lives. Neither woman knew what to say. Looking at Dana, Vanessa reflected with wonder how this battle-hardened teenager had once been such an adorable and innocent child. Vanessa, Bron, Konda, and Rico used to enjoy coming over to the Sterlings' house and playing with little Dana. But everything had changed. Dana was no longer the child she used to be. Max and Miriya were far away, somewhere in deep space. And Bron, Konda, and Rico were dead.  
  
It was almost two weeks since the deaths of Bron and Samantha, but to Vanessa, the time span felt like an eternity. Her life on earth now felt empty without her beloved family. Every day she spent in the ruins of Monument City was a reminder of the life that once had been, the life that was gone forever.  
  
"That's why I have to leave this place," Vanessa said to Dana.  
  
"You could come with us," Dana said. "You can still change your mind."  
  
Vanessa was well aware of the fact that Dana planned to leave the earth at the first available opportunity and travel, along with the rest of her friends from the 15th Squadron, to Tirol and join the SDF-3 forces under Admiral Rick Hunter. If Vanessa went with Dana and her group, she would no longer be alone. She would be among the only friends she had left in the universe: Rick and Lisa, Max and Miriya, and Dana.  
  
The temptation was great.  
  
"My place is here," Vanessa said sadly. "I'm getting too old for space adventure anyway."  
  
"You know what will happen if you stay," Dana said.  
  
Vanessa nodded, remembering everything that Dana had told her about the Invid flower of life. There would be a new war, a war which humanity appeared destined to lose. The invasion could come any day, for all anyone knew.  
  
"This is my home," Vanessa said. "If the Invid are coming, then let them come. I'm not afraid of anything, anymore. I want to be here when it happens. Maybe I can be of some help."  
  
Dana gazed at Vanessa with newfound admiration. It seemed to her that every time Dana spoke to her, she found something new in her that she hadn't seen before.  
  
"Good-bye, Aunty," Dana said, using her affectionate name for Vanessa, which she had used all her life.  
  
Vanessa smiled as she stepped forward and embraced her last link to the past and the life she would soon leave behind forever.  
  
"Take care of yourself, Little Dana," Vanessa said. "I love you."  
  
Vanessa turned and stepped on board the train, which was heading south. Vanessa intended to travel across the country in a southward direction. She would even go all the way to South America if she felt up to it. What would she do? What kind of life would she lead? Was she making a horrible mistake?  
  
Vanessa pondered these questions as she found her seat and looked out the window. The train's engine roared to life, and the wheels began turning. Vanessa saw Dana standing at the edge of the track, watching. Dana put up a hand to her face and slowly wiped a tear from her eye as she waved. Vanessa waved back, and gradually, Dana grew smaller and smaller as she shrank into the distance, becoming nothing more than yet another memory of happier times.  
  
* * *  
  
July 2031  
  
The train had borne Vanessa Leeds to a new life, in a new home, with an uncertain future. Settling down in a small rural South American town, Vanessa had grown accustomed to her new life. She found work as a teacher, and she taught young children history at the town's sole school. The people of her town wondered who was this stranger who seemed to know so much about the history of the first and second Robotech wars. Wishing not to draw undue attention, Vanessa minimized her role in the war. She was careful not to say that she knew any of the war heroes, such as Rick Hunter or Dana Sterling, personally.  
  
"I used to live in Macross," Vanessa would say demurely if anyone asked her what she did during the war.  
  
Vanessa surveyed with a glance the classroom of fifteen children. They were so young, so fragile, she thought to herself. Why did they have to be born into a hopeless world like this?  
  
"Children," Vanessa said, "Tomorrow, I'll tell you all about how the Zentraedi renegade named Khyron destroyed the SDF-1 and New Macross City."  
  
The children went home, and Vanessa went to the washroom to clean up before going home. She stood alone in the washroom, gazing at herself in the mirror. Vanessa shut her eyes and clenched her fists. The memories kept coming back. She had thought that she could talk about the last day of the SDF-1 calmly, but the memories of her lost friends kept returning to haunt her. It was so long ago, but it felt like yesterday. Vanessa noted the wrinkles starting to appear in her face. She was no longer the vibrant,  
  
young woman who had served proudly on the bridge of the SDF-1. Vanessa Leeds was nearing fifty, now, and the light seemed to have faded from her. Everyone she had ever cared for and loved was gone. Why was she even living? What reason did she have to go on? There was no hope left for her in this world. Vanessa was a living death. She was only waiting to die.  
  
In the mirror, Vanessa saw Kim Young stood silently, watching her. She was dressed in her bridge uniform. Her eyes were calm and peaceful.  
  
"Kim?" Vanessa whispered, not daring to turn around.  
  
Those eyes, they were the same eyes that had burned into Vanessa's own on the day the SDF-1 went down for good. Sammie Porter appeared next to Kim.  
  
"I miss you so much," Vanessa said, clutching the pendant at her breast.  
  
"We'll always be together," Kim said softly.  
  
The apparitions disappeared, and Vanessa was alone again.  
  
Vanessa walked quietly down the main street to her small house at the edge of town. Children and dogs played together in the streets at twilight. Unseen birds sang colorful songs to one another as the sky burned a brilliant crimson over the horizon. Vanessa knelt by the side of the road and inspected a small pink flower that had only recently sprouted up.  
  
The Invid flower of life was dangerous to the touch, and Vanessa was careful not to come too close. The townspeople had discovered that the flower possessed unusual properties. Touching the flower would send a deadly jolt of energy into any unsuspecting person. The humans were afraid of the flower and did their best to rid their city streets of the flower. But as quickly as the flowers were destroyed, new ones would invariably come to take their place. Out in the wilderness, there were large fields of Invid flowers, untouched by man.  
  
No one knew what the flowers meant. Most people saw the flowers as a weird nuisance, never suspecting them as a sign of the doom of the earth. But Vanessa knew. She knew that the flowers were calling out to the Invid, a mysterious race of which she knew almost nothing. When the Invid came, the people of earth would fall. It was no use fighting. There was no place to hide. There was no use going around telling everyone, because Vanessa knew that none of these ignorant townspeople would believe her.  
  
"Oh Bron," Vanessa lamented, "how can there be any hope left?"  
  
In the distance, there was a brilliant flash of light. Terrified, everyone ran out to the street to see what was happening. Pillars of light rained down from the stars, illuminating everything for miles.  
  
"What the hell?" someone behind Vanessa said.  
  
"It's starting," Vanessa whispered sadly.  
  
Something was coming their way, toward the town. Within minutes, a swarm of Invid scout ships was upon the town, firing at anything that moved. Vanessa quickly got out of the open and found cover behind a nearby house. The Invid scouts landed on the street and marched through the town, firing indiscriminately and annihilating anyone who dared to fire back.  
  
"Humans," an imperious female voice announced to the town, "we are the Invid. From across the galaxy, we have come, from a world that was lost to a world that was found. What we have done to you is but a small demonstration of our power. Do not dare to oppose us. Your time as the dominant species of life on this planet is at an end."  
  
Under the watchful eyes of the Invid ships, the people of the town emerged from hiding and beheld their new masters. Cries of pain and anguish could be heard everywhere, amidst the flame and rubble of the town. Vanessa wandered up and down the streets, astonished by the destruction and the speed with which it had been wrought.  
  
In front of the town's general store, now in smoking ruins, a young boy was on his knees, sobbing inconsolably.  
  
Vanessa was drawn to this young boy. She did not recognize him as a resident of the town. The boy was clutching the bodies of a man and woman. They lay at the boy's feet in a pool of their own blood. These were his parents, Vanessa realized.  
  
In a flash, the pretty face of her beloved daughter came before her eyes. Samantha's eyes were glazed, and a trail of blood trickled down the sides of her mouth. In a cruel twist of fate, her precious daughter had been taken from her.  
  
"I failed," Bron's voice echoed in Vanessa's head. "I failed to save our little girl."  
  
"No," Vanessa said.  
  
Vanessa shut her eyes, trying to keep herself in the present moment.  
  
"No," the young boy said in agony. "Mama. Papa."  
  
Vanessa looked around them. No one else in the town had stopped to notice this little boy. He was a stranger, from out of town, and people had their own families to worry about. Gazing at the boy and his dead parents from a distance of several yards, Vanessa felt an upwelling of compassion in her heart.  
  
Vanessa's shadow fell upon the boy and his parents, and the boy turned. He couldn't have been more than ten years old. Seven, maybe eight years old, Vanessa thought. He was a slim and handsome boy with red-brown hair.  
  
"Who are you?" the boy asked tearfully.  
  
Vanessa got down on her knees and faced the boy, eye to eye.  
  
"I'm Vanessa Leeds," said Vanessa warmly.  
  
The boy looked at her blankly and with trepidation. He was afraid of her.  
  
"You're not from this town, are you?" Vanessa said, trying her best to soothe the child. "What's your name?"  
  
"Rand," the boy said.  
  
"Are you all alone?" Vanessa asked.  
  
Rand nodded.  
  
Vanessa reached out to Rand and laid her hands on his shoulders, indifferent to the chaotic activity of the people around her and the quiet threat of the Invid troops.  
  
"You don't have to be alone," Vanessa said with a tender smile. "Come with me. I'll take care of you. Everything is going to be all right."  
  
Rand looked into Vanessa's eyes with amazement. Who was this woman? She seemed to have such an enormous inner quiet and strength about her. For the first time, Rand began to believe that everything really WAS going to be all right.  
  
Vanessa stood up and smiled as she held her hand down to Rand. Hesitantly, Rand stood up and took her hand. The woman and child walked down the road together.  
  
* * *  
  
August 2032  
  
It was a beautiful day. As Vanessa walked through the meadow to the edge of the nearby river, she paused to admire the clear blue skies and the birds that flew overhead. There was no sign of the Invid.  
  
"You know, Rand, it's dangerous for us to be out here by ourselves," said Vanessa.  
  
Rand gave Vanessa a roguish grin.  
  
"Come on, Vanessa, live a little," he said.  
  
Rand was carrying two long tree branches. He took out a knife and began whittling down the branches into two long poles.  
  
"Could you tell me what exactly we're doing?"  
  
"We're going fishing. I used to do this all the time at the river with my dad."  
  
Rand stopped at the thought of his deceased parents. As Vanessa now knew, Rand had come to town with his parents to buy some supplies, when the Invid had invaded. Rand's home town was five miles away, but now that he was staying with Vanessa, there was no reason for him to return. Vanessa in turn had shared the story of how she had lost her family and best friends in war. From the day that they had met, Vanessa and Rand were rarely apart.  
  
An hour later, Vanessa and Rand were enjoying their fish, which they had caught themselves and cooked over a small fire. Vanessa and Rand sat together at the edge of the river and watched the sun set as they ate their dinner.  
  
"Sitting here like this," Vanessa said, "it's easy to forget that there's a war going on."  
  
"But we can't," Rand said bitterly. "One day I'm going to pay back the Invid for what they've done."  
  
"There's nothing you and I can do about it," Vanessa said.  
  
Rand looked at Vanessa in surprise.  
  
"You sound as if you've given up," Rand said.  
  
Vanessa looked toward the sunset in sadness.  
  
"I'm sorry," Vanessa said.  
  
I'm sorry, Bron. I'm old; I've lost hope. I joined the RDF to make a difference, and after all these years, what difference have I made in the world? We're still at war. We are a conquered people."  
  
"Vanessa," Rand said, getting her attention. "What about that story about the five million ships?"  
  
* * *  
  
August 2031  
  
Vanessa sat next to Rand's bed. The poor child could not sleep and was having recurring nightmares about the deaths of his parents. Vanessa's heart went out to him, and she reached out and took Rand's hand.  
  
"I'm here," Vanessa said, squeezing his hand.  
  
"I can't sleep," Rand said. "I know I should sleep. But I just can't."  
  
"Is there anything I can do?"  
  
"Vanessa," Rand's eyes lit up, "would you tell me a story?"  
  
"A story?"  
  
"My mama used to read stories to me at bed time."  
  
Vanessa thought about it for a while. There were so many stories to tell. Which would she choose? Her mind reached back to a terrible day. The day the earth died, and humanity triumphed over overwhelming odds. She could see it in her memories with perfect clarity. She could see Kim, Sammie, Claudia, Captain Gloval, Exedore, and Minmei. With growing enthusiasm, Vanessa told the epic tale of how the SDF-1 joined forces with Breetai and Azonia to defeat Dolza and the fleet of five million. They had never been so scared in all their lives, but the tiny shred of hope in their hearts had kept them going. The thrill of victory and the promise of a new life, born from the earth's ashes, had exhilarated them all. And as Rand listened to the story, he too, was transfixed. He had never heard the story before. He knew almost nothing of the first Robotech war.  
  
From that day on, Rand could never get enough of Vanessa's stories, whether they were of war or of peace.  
  
* * *  
  
Vanessa and Rand were silent for a while as they sat near the riverbank.  
  
"If we could beat five million warships, we can beat the Invid," said Rand hopefully.  
  
Rand turned to look at Vanessa more closely, and he saw that she was holding back tears.  
  
"Vanessa--" Rand said.  
  
"I'm old and tired of war," Vanessa said, hanging her head. "I'm so sorry, Rand. I know I've told you all kinds of inspirational stories. I've given you all the hope I could. Seems like I don't have any more left for myself."  
  
The faces of Bron and Samantha returned to her mind's eye. She could see them even now. She could hear their voices. They were happy voices, the long lost echoes of a distant and extinct era.  
  
"All I ever wanted," Vanessa said, "was a normal life. Love and family. It's all I ever wanted."  
  
Rand put an arm around Vanessa as she sat with her head bowed.  
  
"I'm here," Rand said. "We'll always be together."  
  
Vanessa looked up with a start. Weren't those the words once spoken to her by Kim and Sammie? It was a vow of friendship spoken long ago, in the early years of their friendship.  
  
Vanessa looked at Rand affectionately, and she smiled as she put an arm around him.  
  
* * *  
  
May 2037  
  
Having rebuilt most of the town from the initial Invid assault, life went on for everyone as normal. The Invid, with the exception of a few routine and periodic patrols, mostly left the townspeople alone. There were no thoughts of armed resistance. Everyone wanted nothing more than to go on with their lives. Vanessa was no exception.  
  
Vanessa whistled a cheerful tune as she prepared dinner for herself and Rand. The young orphan Vanessa had adopted was growing up nicely. He was thirteen now. They cared for one another deeply and were grateful for each other's companionship, but Vanessa could tell that Rand was growing increasingly restless. He chafed at Vanessa's efforts to look out for his safety and make sure he did not do anything rash that would draw the Invid.  
  
"Where is that kid?" Vanessa said with annoyance.  
  
Rand should have been home from the general store more than half an hour ago. He was oft to wander the wilderness outside of town on his own, looking for useful junk that he could salvage.  
  
"I'm hunting for treasure," Rand once said.  
  
Rand came in through the door, breathless with excitement.  
  
"Rand," Vanessa scolded, "have you been wandering in the woods again?"  
  
Rand grinned sheepishly. "Check out what I found! Isn't it great?"  
  
Rand brandished a pair of laser rifles.  
  
"They still work, too," Rand said.  
  
Vanessa shook her head in gentle disapproval.  
  
"Come on," Rand said, "don't lecture me again."  
  
"Rand, I worry for you so much--"  
  
"Come on, Vanessa, it's not like you're my mother."  
  
Vanessa shut her mouth. Rand could see that she was stung and hurt by that remark. Vanessa turned away from him.  
  
Rand walked over to her and tugged her sleeve.  
  
"I'm sorry, Vanessa, I didn't mean it."  
  
"I don't want to lose you, Rand. You're all I have left."  
  
They turned to face each other.  
  
"I'll do whatever you say, I promise," Rand said, embracing Vanessa, "I won't go out wandering alone again. Just don't look at me like that."  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"Like I've broken your heart or something," Rand said.  
  
Rand was as good as his word after from that day on.  
  
* * *  
  
October 2038  
  
One night, Vanessa and Rand were having dinner when there was a knock at the door. Vanessa and Rand looked at one another.  
  
"Who could that be?" Rand said.  
  
They almost never had visitors.  
  
The sight of three soldiers dressed in cyclone armor startled both Vanessa and Rand. Neither of them had seen cyclone armor before. One soldier clutched his side as his two comrades struggled to keep him on his feet.  
  
"Can I help you?" Vanessa said warily.  
  
The lanky, nervous looking soldier on the right said, "our buddy's hurt. Could you help us patch him up? We promise, we won't stay long."  
  
"I don't know if I should," Vanessa said nervously.  
  
Rand was appalled.  
  
"Are you kidding?" he cried. "We gotta help these guys! Come on!"  
  
Rand opened the door wider and pulled one of the soldiers in, and the rest followed.  
  
* * *  
  
The wounded soldier, a man named Thompson, lay on the couch, exhausted. Rand and another soldier, Marks, worked to bandage Thompson's wounded abdomen. He had received a shrapnel wound. Vanessa and the third soldier, a man named Davis, sat at a table, drinking tea.  
  
"What are you people doing here?" Vanessa demanded.  
  
It was well known throughout the town that there were human soldiers scattered everywhere, trying to resist the Invid. Anyone who harbored these soldiers risked deadly reprisals. Vanessa was eager to get these soldiers out of her home as quickly as possible, before the other townspeople found out.  
  
"We were sent by Admiral Rick Hunter, and we arrived here on September 15th. Our orders were to destroy Reflex Point and reclaim the earth."  
  
"Rick Hunter?" Vanessa was startled by the mention of that name. It had been many years since she had last seen Rick, let alone heard anything about him.  
  
"You mean THE Rick Hunter?" Rand said excitedly, having heard all about the legendary war hero from Vanessa's stories.  
  
"That's right, son," Lieutenant Davis said. "But we failed in our mission. The Invid defenses were greater than we had anticipated, and we were wiped out and scattered. Some of us have been trying to keep going with the mission."  
  
"Why?" Vanessa said. "Why throw your lives away when your mission has already failed?"  
  
Davis shrugged. "It's all we have left to do."  
  
Rick Hunter. The name from Vanessa's distant past arose into her consciousness and galvanized her in a way she never had thought possible. Why, if Rick Hunter was still alive and well, bent on reclaiming the earth, surely there was hope for this world after all. He was among the last remnants of the greatest generation, the generation of warriors who had defeated Dolza and the five million warships. If anyone could win when all hope seemed lost, surely Rick Hunter could find a way. For a brief moment, Vanessa's heart was filled with hope. Rick, Lisa, Max, Miriya, and the others were still out there. They had not forgotten earth.  
  
"We were ambushed by an Invid patrol," Davis continued. "Thompson got hit, and we were barely able to escape with our lives."  
  
Vanessa looked upon Davis and his men with compassion.  
  
"You can stay here for the night," she said, "but you have to leave this town first thing in the morning."  
  
* * *  
  
Three hours later, there was another knock at the door. It was very late at night. As Rand went to answer the door, he saw a large number of the townspeople gathered outside the house.  
  
"Uh oh, looks like trouble," Rand said. He went over to alert Vanessa and Davis, who were sitting quietly and watching the sleeping Thompson and Marks.  
  
"Hey! Get up!" Rand shook the sleeping soldiers awake.  
  
"Who's out there?" Vanessa whispered.  
  
The knock sounded on the door again, more insistent.  
  
"We know you're in there," a muffled voice said from the other side. "Come on out, or there's gonna be trouble!"  
  
"Everyone, I think," Rand said as he picked up his laser rifles and slung them over his shoulder.  
  
"I'll handle this," Vanessa said to the others. "You soldiers get out of sight while I answer the door."  
  
Vanessa finally opened the door and was greeted by the sight of nearly the entire town. They all stood outside, holding flashlights. Vanessa shielded her eyes from the glare.  
  
"What do you people want?" Vanessa said.  
  
"We know you got Robotech soldiers in there, Miss Leeds," a gruff man said. "I saw you take them in three hours ago. If you don't hand them over, the Invid are gonna come and destroy this town."  
  
He and the others stepped forward, pushing Vanessa back into the house as they entered the living room to confront the soldiers.  
  
"We can't allow that to happen," the man said.  
  
Ten men from the town brazenly walked into the living room, carrying pistols. The intruders were met at gunpoint by the three Robotech soldiers, who were positioned at various spots in the living room. Rand, with his laser rifles, stood dumbly by Vanessa as he helplessly watched the confrontation unfold.  
  
"Come any closer and we'll make you regret it," Davis said as he aimed his laser rifle at the mob's leader.  
  
The two parties stared at each other across the short distance of the living room, while Vanessa and Rand stood by, out of the line of fire. Looking at the mob's leader, Vanessa could tell what he was thinking. He was thinking that there were ten of his guys and only three of them. He was thinking, we can take these soldiers.  
  
Each side hesitated for a moment. Neither wanted to fire first. Then one of the townspeople snapped and he let off a shot with his pistol that nearly took Thompson's head off.  
  
That was it. Both sides opened fire. Vanessa screamed as she grabbed Rand and held him close to the floor. Broken wood and glass rained around them as the sounds of gunfire filled the air.  
  
Vanessa looked around the room. Seven townspeople lay dead on the floor. The other three had retreated to the outside. Thompson was dead, and Marks was nursing a wounded arm. As for Davis, he had emerged relatively unscathed, save for a shot that had taken his left ear off. Blood was flowing down the side of his head, onto his body armor.  
  
Davis looked at Vanessa.  
  
"Is there another way out of here?" Davis said.  
  
"There's a back door," Vanessa said. "It faces the woods."  
  
Vanessa looked out to the crowd gathered outside. The townspeople were pondering their next move. There was precious little time. They did not have the house completely surrounded. Everyone was standing near the front side of the house.  
  
"Then go," Davis said. "Take your boy and get out of here."  
  
"What about you? We can't leave you here to die," Rand said.  
  
"This is the end of the road for us," Davis said. "I won't let you die on account of us. Go on, we'll cover you. Our cyclones are hidden by the bushes outside. You better haul ass."  
  
"Let's burn them out!" a woman shrieked madly. The crowd of fifty people began lighting torches shortly.  
  
Inside the house, Vanessa and Rand hesitated. Davis waved his gun at them.  
  
"Go!" he ordered. "Go NOW!"  
  
Vanessa seized Rand's hand and led him toward the back of the small house, where there was a back door.  
  
Marks and Davis propped themselves up near the front windows and began firing at the townspeople, driving them back.  
  
"Come on you sons of bitches, you want a piece of us? Come ON!" Marks taunted as he shot one townsperson after another.  
  
The townspeople responded by hurling torches at the house as they fired back with their guns. Meanwhile, Vanessa and Rand had made it out of the house. They headed for the parked cyclones hidden by the bushes, not more than twenty yards away.  
  
Two of the townspeople spotted Vanessa and Rand. The two men cried out in alarm and ran for them. Rand whipped out his laser rifles and shot them both down. Vanessa watched the violence unfold with horror.  
  
Can't I ever escape it? When will it end?  
  
These thoughts ran through Vanessa's head as she saw Rand turn back for the nearest cyclone.  
  
"Come on, Vanessa!" Rand exhorted as he hopped on.  
  
Two more men were approaching. Seated on the cyclone, Rand scratched his head.  
  
"How on earth do you operate this thing?" he said, bewildered.  
  
Vanessa, crouching near the cyclone, saw the two men stop at a distance and draw their guns, preparing to shoot them both down.  
  
After flicking switches and turning dials at random, the engines finally roared to life.  
  
"Hey!" Rand said, delighted by his luck. At that exact moment of Rand's distraction, the two men fired on Rand.  
  
"No!" Vanessa cried, leaping to shield Rand from the lasers with her own body. She cried out in pain as the lasers penetrated her right shoulder and her stomach.  
  
Rand turned and saw Vanessa fall at the side of the cyclone bike. Infuriated, he let loose on both of the shooters with his laser rifle, gunning them both down in a rain of fire. There was no time to think about  
  
anything besides escape. More enemies would be coming within seconds.  
  
"Vanessa," Rand said, leaping off the cyclone and hurriedly helping Vanessa to her feet. She was clutching her stomach in agony.  
  
"Leave me," Vanessa gasped.  
  
"I won't leave you," Rand whispered fiercely. "Climb on behind me and hold on tight!"  
  
Vanessa struggled to mount the cyclone behind Rand. She slipped her arms around his slender waist. Rand revved up the cyclone and sped off, toward the open roads. Risking a look over his shoulder, Rand saw Marks and Davis charge out of the burning house, firing wildly on the townspeople, determined to go down fighting. Rand fought tears as he watched the home he had known for seven years go up in flames. Then an even more disturbing sight appeared in the distance, coming from the direction of the town.  
  
"Invid!" Rand cried.  
  
Two Invid scout ships were hot in pursuit of Rand's cyclone.  
  
"Hold on tight," Rand urged Vanessa as he cranked up the speed.  
  
In the dead of the night, Rand had nothing to illuminate his way except the headlights of the cyclone and the pale moon, shining overhead. The Invid were drawing closer. They were coming up alongside the bank of the river where Rand and Vanessa had gone fishing together. The Invid began to fire, and their shots came perilously close to vaporizing Rand and Vanessa.  
  
Rand saw that there was no outrunning their pursuers. There was no question of fighting, not with Vanessa wounded and Rand having no idea how to use the cyclone's weapons.  
  
"We've got to ditch this bike!" Rand shouted to Vanessa.  
  
Vanessa did not respond.  
  
"Vanessa! Talk to me!"  
  
"I hear you," Vanessa said weakly, through clenched teeth.  
  
The riverbank was to their right, at the edge of the road. Rand began slowing down his bike.  
  
"On three, we jump for the riverbank and hide. Three."  
  
The two Invid ships overshot them and made a 180 degree turn, preparing to make another strafing run at them.  
  
"Two!"  
  
The Invid opened fire.  
  
"One!"  
  
Rand leaned his cyclone toward the riverbank.  
  
"NOW!"  
  
Vanessa and Rand both jumped off the cyclone for the riverbank at the same time. Simultaneously, the Invid's shots landed on the cyclone, sending it up in a deafening explosion. After rolling around on the grass and pebbles, Rand and Vanessa came to a halt. They crawled further along the side of the river, finding shelter behind a small enbankment of rocks. Remaining still, the pair huddled together in the darkness as the Invid swooped overhead and landed. Vanessa felt as if she could hear her own heart beat as the Invid troops marched around the area, conducting a cursory inspection.  
  
The Invid could see nothing. Deciding that the humans had probably been destroyed, they flew back to the town to observe the fight between the soldiers and the townspeople, which by now had ended.  
  
Rand lifted his head above the level of the rocks and breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the Invid depart. Then he saw the blood on his own hands and remembered Vanessa's injuries.  
  
Vanessa lay on her back, her eyes turned toward the stars and the moon above. She was breathing heavily, and her hands were on her abdomen. Her clothes were drenched in blood.  
  
Vanessa Leeds was dying, and she knew it.  
  
"Vanessa," Rand said, throwing away his guns and kneeling to cradle her in his arms.  
  
"I'm sorry, Rand," Vanessa said softly, "but my time has come."  
  
"No," Rand cried in despair, "We'll find a way. I'll run down to the next town and find a doctor. You can make it. I won't let you die. I won't!"  
  
But they both knew such talk was futile. Vanessa would be dead before Rand could ever make it.  
  
"Stay with me," Vanessa said. "Didn't we say we would always be together?"  
  
Rand began crying. Vanessa reached up with a hand to caress Rand's face and wipe away his tears. She felt her own tears falling as well. Let them fall, she thought to herself.  
  
"It's too soon to say goodbye," Rand said. "Don't go, please don't leave me. I love you, mama."  
  
Vanessa felt her heart skip a beat. It was the first time Rand had ever called her that. Their eyes met, and Vanessa smiled.  
  
Vanessa felt her head lightening, and her breath came in ragged gasps. It would not be long now. Vanessa summoned all of her strength to open her heart completely to Rand and share with him all that she was never able to say to him before.  
  
"Listen," Vanessa said. "We all have a destiny. The people we love, the places we go, the things we do in life. My destiny led me to you, Rand. I was meant to find you and help you. We lost our families but we found each other. I'm not afraid to die. I want you to know that I'm glad I could give up my life for yours. You'll be on your own now, but you'll find a family again. Don't be afraid. You will find people who will love you and care for you as I have. It's our destiny, Rand. Isn't that a nice thought?"  
  
Wishing he could think of something better to say, all Rand could choke out was, "I--I guess so!"  
  
With what little strength she had left, Vanessa reached around her neck and unhooked the chain of her necklace. She placed her precious pendant into Rand's hand and closed his hand on it with her own.  
  
"What is this?" Rand said.  
  
"Something to remember me by," Vanessa said. "Always remember how much I love you."  
  
With that, Vanessa pulled Rand's head down toward her own, and she laid a gentle kiss on his forehead. Rand wrapped his arms around her, and they lay on the riverbank together in the darkness for a long time.  
  
* * *  
  
August 2050  
  
"She died in my arms on that night by the river," Rand told his mesmerized daughter. "I buried her at the foot of a nearby tree and carved her name into the trunk."  
  
"And then what happened?"  
  
"Well," Rand scratched his head. "After that, I was on my own for a few years and had some pretty wild adventures. And then I met your mother and swept her off her feet."  
  
"Can we visit Vanessa one day?" Maria asked, yawning. Sleepiness was overtaking her at last.  
  
"Of course," Rand said. "It's not far from here. We'll go tomorrow. How's that?"  
  
Maria smiled.  
  
"Thanks, daddy."  
  
Rand kissed Maria on the forehead.  
  
"Goodnight, sweetheart," he said.  
  
Holding the pendant in his hand, Rand left his daughter's room and found Rook standing outside the door.  
  
"So you swept me off my feet, did you?" Rook said with an ironic smile.  
  
"Hehe. If you wanted to hear my story, Rook, you should have just come in and said so, instead of hiding out here. Are you ashamed to admit that you like my stories?"  
  
"Sorry, I didn't mean to sneak around," Rook said.  
  
"I did say I've had some pretty amazing adventures, didn't I?" Rand said. "Not all of them involved getting you to fall in love with me, you know."  
  
Rook playfully punched her husband in the arm.  
  
"I'd beat you up if I didn't love you so much," Rook said sweetly, holding out her hand.  
  
"Can I see it?" she said.  
  
Rand handed the pendant over to Rook.  
  
"I'll be going to bed now," Rand said.  
  
"I'll be with you soon," Rook answered, kissing Rand on the lips.  
  
Rook sat alone at the dining room table and turned the holographic pendant on. The image of Vanessa, Kim, and Sammie appeared before her eyes, as lifelike as on the day the photo was taken. Rook's eyes were drawn to the pretty young woman with the brown hair and glasses.  
  
"I can only hope," Rook addressed the holographic image of Vanessa, "that I can live my life with your strength and courage. I never met you, but I feel as if I've always known you. Thank you, Vanessa. Thank you for taking care of Rand."  
  
Having said these words, Rook pondered the image for a long time. The women in the picture seemed to come alive before her eyes. The sights and sounds of a faraway day flooded her senses. If Rook could only close her eyes, she could take herself back to another day, to a time when humans fought with giants, to a time when the Terrible Trio was together and whole, enjoying a friendship that was destined to live forever.  
  
The End 


End file.
